Doomed To Repeat Myself

I think it’s that time again — I think before I can really “move on” to the stuff I want to do, I’ll have to create another Player’s Handbook Remix.

It feels in some ways like “taking a step backwards” but at the same time, it’s like one of those “one step back, two steps forward” kind of deals.

Part of why I feel like I need to do another “PHB Remix” is because I lack a direction to focus on — last Fall, I felt like I could pick a theme and run away with it — Cthulhu, blood & guts, et cetera — but I don’t want to flail about in a void.

I don’t want to make classes that my players will never use — classes they won’t want to use — which puts me in a position of having to iterate on the same basic ones again and again: fighter, mage, thief, and priest.

Also, there’s the point to be made that I’m better at this now than I was even a few months ago, and “Second Mix” was last Summer. If I did a new Remix, I’d build the classes out to Epic tier with no problem. They’d still want for Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies, but they’d be easier to actually implement.

Then, there’s the challenge of rewriting the classes so they are almost but not exactly the same as the published version, while simultaneously making them not only simpler, but superior to their official, published counterparts.

Designing around the flaws of the classic versions while allowing for growth.

Oh, and the challenge of getting better and faster at designing classes — oh, and I might also have to put out some races now that I’ve been talking about them so much lately. There’s always stuff for me to do around here.

Part of this iterative process — if I tell myself it’s “iterative,” it sounds better than “repetitive” — helps me spot holes in my original designs. By the time I’ve completed a pass, I have new stuff to work on — not to mention the fact that setting a finite goal like a PHB rewrite gives me a “finished product.”